Chasing Time
by foxe165
Summary: With the Fates correcting an error they made decades prior, Hermione Granger has finally returned to the time, and family, she belongs to. As she returns to Hogwarts with her new brothers, it's all up to her to change the destiny of Tom Riddle. But with a curse, a deadline, and a whole different generation, just how easy will that be? TR/HG


So I'm really excited about this Tomione story! I've been playing around with it for a little while and I decided to go with it! This will be much, much different than my other tomione story (hopefully), because I'm going for a darker Tom against a slightly OOC Hermione. She's going to be a pureblood, with all the memories of her pureblooded childhood with her pureblooded family so naturally she'd be different than the Hermione Granger we know and love.

:)

* * *

Let it be known that the three Fates do not control everything that happens in a person's life. Before a child is born, a plan is laid out for that child. The Fates decide simple things: births, deaths, and the occasional pair of soul mates, but even the Fates make errors. Sometimes deaths occur before they are meant to, people are born when they are not supposed to, and on the rare occasion when the third Fate, the bearer of life, overlooks a number, a child will be born many decades after they was intended to be.

One particular day on the eve of May First, in the eighteenth year of a particular child's life, the first Fate decided to look over her books after a strange feeling urged the Fate to. It had taken no more than ten minutes for her to realize something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

"Novissimus!" the first Fate roared, nearly uprooting the complexly raveled string that lay carefully in her lap.

"What?" the third Fate ran in, breathless, her long red hair swinging behind her. "What is it, Primitus?"

"Have you seen this?" the older Fate inquired her sister menacingly. Novissimus tucked the errant strands behind her pointed ears, frowning as she moved forward to read the particular woven cloth offered. Her already pale faced went white. "I imagine you have, then."

"Now, now, do not be angry with me sister," the third Fate held up her hands defensively as she backed away from the fuming master Fate.

"Angry?" Primitus scoffed. "I am beyond angry you imbecile! I am furious! _How_? How could you _possibly _manage to screw this up and not tell me?"

"What is going on in here?"

Both Fates glanced over at their final sister, a tiny female with short, spiky black locks.

"Chordus!" the third Fate cried, darting over to hide behind the calm fate, though it rendered useless as the redhead was over a foot taller than her sibling.

The room's newest occupant raised a brow at her older sister. "Primitus, what is wrong with Novissimus now?"

"The question you should be asking, dear sister, is what _will _be wrong if Novissimus does not fix her mistake!"

Chordus furrowed her brows. "What has she done?"

Primitus, angry beyond words, merely gestured her hand towards the woven life plan that her youngest sister had butchered. The second Fate gasped.

"Oh, Novi! What had caused you to do this?"

The redhead twirled her long hair nervously. "Well, do you remember that night that Hades came to visit with his brother?" her sisters nodded, Primitus exasperated already. "I-I _may _have be distracted with their arrival and skipped my work by writing down a random number so I could be done that day."

Even Chordus, known for her collected head, frowned in disgust.

"You allowed a man to distract you from your job?" Primitus shouted, trembling in fury. "You only have _one_ job! _One! _And you cannot even do _that_!"

The third Fate swallowed.

"What can I do to fix this?" she inquired in a small voice. Chordus sighed, rubbing her long fingers over her forehead tiredly.

"There is only one thing we can do," the small Fate replied softly. "We must bring her here to restart the life she should have lived."

"I shall do it," Primitus stated firmly, marching out of the room to prepare for their soon-to-be guest. "Chordus, make the proper arrangements for Miss Granger shall you? I have a feeling she will not accept our plan easily."

Novissimus was practically bouncing with excitement. Never had she met a mortal, let alone a magical one! It was almost worth the shouting her oldest sister had done to her. Almost.

Primitus had yet to speak to her, but she knew it was only time before the oldest Fate gave in to her littlest sister. She always did.

Chordus strode in, perfectly collected as always, and the third Fate beamed so brightly her older sister thought it must have strained her cheeks to do so.

"Is it time?" she squealed excitedly. The shorter Fate nodded once.

"Yes, Primitus is cutting Miss Granger's cord now. She should be with us shortly."

The redheaded Fate swore that time was moving slower. It was three minutes before the oldest Fate returned to the meeting room, giving Novissimus a fond look of exasperation as she rocked back and forth on her heels. Another four minutes later and the mortal had yet to arrive!

"This one is taking her time," Chordus, the decider of Death, muttered offhandedly. "Miss Granger is struggling to stay alive. She has yet to pass through Hades doors."

Novissimus blushed at the name of the handsome god. Primitus uncharacteristically rolled her eyes. "Her form is growing weak. I predict one, two minutes until she arrives, but no more."

Finally, after exactly eighty-seven and a half seconds, a bright flash of light shone in the dark room that housed the Fates' business. Novissimus watched in awe as two glowing forms appeared in the center of the white light, one tiny and petite, one large and muscular form that was all too familiar. The beautiful Fate flushed bright red as Hades' scowling form faded back to his usual pale skin. She determinedly turned her gaze on the mortal interestedly.

Miss Hermione Granger was different than Novissimus expected. The mortal had very large, bushy hair that took up most of her weight, it seemed, as the girl was thin to the point of starvation. Dull brown eyes roved crazily, drinking in the immediate surroundings. Novissimus was impressed by the knowledge evident in the mortal's gaze.

"I would have been here sooner," Hades began in his deep, powerful tone, immediately retrieving the third Fate's attention once more. She sighed discreetly. The god really was just too handsome for his own good. "Had _this one _not caused me so much trouble. She did not wish to die."

"Figure that," Chordus smirked lightly. Primitus, ever the leader, took a small step towards the mortal, who was staring at the blonde with a mixture of fear and suspicion.

"You are Hermione Jean Granger, are you not?"

The brunette nodded after a short pause. The first Fate smiled prettily, casting a wistful expression over Hades' strong face a moment long enough for Novissimus to catch. She frowned petulantly. She would always come behind her eldest sister.

"I had hoped never to meet you, though it is a pleasure, indeed."

The mortal blinked slowly, shaking her arm out of Hades' loose grip; both seemed glad to rid the contact of one another. Novissimus leaned up the balls of her feet, making her seem even taller than her already impressive height. The witch shrank back subconsciously, even when the bubbly Fate smiled her most charming grin.

"Hi," the red-haired girl blurted out, unable to hold back her excitement. From beside her, Chordus stifled a snort. "My name is Novissimus, but you may call me Novi, if you like. How are you fairing?"

The other occupants of the room stared blankly at the third Fate.

"Dead," the mortal replied matter-of-factly. Hades let a small, rare smile grace his lips as Novissimus blushed dully.

"Of course," she began apologetically before Primitus took pity on her youngest sister.

"Miss Granger," brown eyes slowly left the third Fate's mumbling form as the blonde Fate took another deliberate step towards the mortal. "We have brought you here for a purpose."  
"So I'm not just dead, then?" the newcomer inquired.

"No, Miss Granger," Chordus stated. "You see there was a… mistake in deciding your birth. You were not meant to be born the year that you were."

"Oh?" the mortal shifted her stance into a more defensive pose, crossing her arms against her chest.

Hades suddenly disappeared in a flash of bright, red smoke.

"Pathetic," Chordus muttered at the cowardly act the god had just displayed. The tiny Fate turned her attention back on the mortal. "No, in fact, you were not meant to be a Granger at all."

"What?" the mortal questioned. "What do you mean, 'not meant to be a Granger'? It's not _my _fault that _you _messed up! You put me where I belonged, now put me back!"

Novissimus ducked her head in shame, an action that did not go unnoticed by Miss Granger's keen eyes.

"Do it!" she demanded bossily. "I like where I am and I'm needed! What is more important that I needed to die prematurely? Put me back!"

"Have you ever heard of Salazar's curve?" Primitus interrupted over the mortal's shouting's. The snapping close of Miss Granger's jaw answered her question, signaling the blonde could continue, and she did so while ignoring the heavy glare from the witch. "Salazar Slytherin was not an evil man. He grew up in a normal family, with normal friends, excluding one exceptional one: Godric Gryffindor. They were neighbors and childhood friends, closer than you can imagine. Even their significant others were close friends."

The mortal had become subdued, in a trace with Primitus' words. Even the other Fates, who knew little about magical history, were entranced by her story.

"A few years after they opened Hogwarts, their magical school to teach children, Salazar was cursed by a scorned lover. His entire bloodline holds the curse in their veins, causing them to become wretched after their seventeenth birthday. While Salazar was nearly thirty when he was cursed, it became heightened, which led him to leaving a Baslisk in his personal chamber to one day be reopened by his Heir," the mortal was silent by now, pondering the truth in Primitus' words. Novissimus smiled as she watched her sister, she was beautiful and intelligent, and everything the third Fate wanted to be. "You know that Heir as Lord Voldemort, but underneath the mask that has overtaken him was a young, brilliant, talented boy by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Miss Granger blinked twice.

"Wonderful," she drawled in a voice that suggested otherwise. "What does this have to do with you killing me?"

"Have you heard of the term 'soul mates'?" Chordus inquired, her tone taking on a mocking edge that Novissimus knew grated on Miss Granger's nerves. The mortal froze, her pale face loosing the last bit of color it had left.

"Tom Riddle was never meant to become Lord Voldemort," the first Fate whispered softly. The mortal slowly turned to face Primitus with a look of pure dread. "You were meant to prevent him, be there for him. But you were not and Salazar's curse was able to overtake him. Albus Dumbledore was wrong in his theory; Tom Riddle surely can love, but he never had the opportunity. You were made to match him: in intelligence, in power, and in morals."

Hermione blinked, and blinked again.  
"What can I do?" she asked in a small voice, fearing the answer. The first Fate drew herself up to an impressive height, towering over the mortal's petite frame.

"We shall return you to the time you were meant to live, with the family you were meant to live, in the life you were meant to have."

"Family?"

Novissimus grinned down at the shorter girl, happy to see acceptance building in the mortal's eyes. "Of course, silly girl. Why else do you think Harry Potter felt like family to you? You are supposed to be his Great Aunt."

Her breath hitched. "I-I'm a Potter?"

The second Fate nodded, a light smirk playing across her lips. "A twin, to be exact, with three older brothers."

"B-brothers?" the mortal stuttered. Her face abruptly crashed, causing Novissimus to frown. "But what about my mum and dad? I can't just abandon them!"

Primitus looked uncomfortable.

"Well, dear, you will not exactly be _leaving_ them, as you are not technically their daughter."

The seconds ticked by slowly as the four women absorbed the weight in that statement.

"So you see?" Novissimus continued happily. "There is nothing to be emotional about!"

Chordus pinched her nose irritably as Primitus tutted loudly.  
"You shall have to excuse her," the second Fate ground out in a flat tone. "Our baby sister is not the most tactful of the lot. I believe she was dropped on her head as a child but that is just a theory."

The mortal held back a snort as the third Fate grinned obliviously. The blonde Fate resisted the smirk playing on her lips just long enough for the redhead to smile at her lovingly.

"Well, Miss Granger, are you ready to accept your fate?"

Novissimus smiled at the badly used pun her sister had been waiting decades to use.

"What am I supposed to do?"

The third Fate smiled wistfully, her eyes glazing over at the thought of a very tall, handsome underworld god. "Love," she sighed, not seeing the bugging eyes of the mortal or the matching smirks of her sisters. "That is what you must do: love him, my dear friend."

Miss Granger snorted. "Right. Love. Love Voldemort? There's a better chance that I'd muck up a simple levitation spell."

The younger Fates shared a confused glance as Primitus smiled sympathetically.

"I believe in years to come that you will understand the difference between Tom Marvolo Riddle and Lord Voldemort," she kindly ignored the derisive snort from the mortal. "Until then I suggest you do your best to adjust to your true family. We shall be sending you back a few years before you begin Hogwarts again to help you with this." She hesitated a moment before strolling over to the much shorter girl, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezing it gently. "Do keep an open mind, Miss Granger. It will be the thing to save you."

Before the brunette could reply, the three Fates lifted their left arms in unison, chanting "retro in tempore ad tempus, ut salvum!"

And with a bright flash, Miss Hermione Jean Granger disappeared from the Fates presence.

Chordus broke the silence a few minutes later with a simple statement that the three Fates never forgot.

"It appears Miss Granger is chasing time, now."

* * *

Latin courtesy of google translate:

Primitus- first

Chordus- second

Novissimus- third

Retro in tempore ad tempus, ut salvum- reverse time to change time


End file.
